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Adult Education woodworking class

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Forum topic by RichardB posted 264 days ago 267 views 0 times favorited 7 replies Add to Favorites Watch
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RichardB

69 posts in 382 days


264 days ago

We got the spring catalog in the mail today for adult education. Besides the usual ESL and fitness courses, this time they have woodworking listed. One night a week, 3 hours, 12 weeks. $35. I took woodshop in high school, and I had a really good shop teacher. And then i worked in a plastics shop for a year, so I’m no stranger to table saws, jointers, drill presses, etc. I think I’d be bored to tears, but yet….. I’d probably be able to use to jointer and planer to surface a lot of wood to take home.

Anybody else take an adult ed shop class? Was it a waste of time? Should I sign up?

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trifern

7894 posts in 660 days


264 days ago

You never know, some adult ed classes will allow the experienced people go at their own pace. It may be a good opportunity to get some regular shop time and an opportunity to use some tools you don’t have. You may even get lucky and have an instructor who will actually teach you something useful. Good luck.

-- My favorite piece is my last one, my best piece is my next one.

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WoodSpanker

298 posts in 285 days


264 days ago

Some local community colleges and high schools will let you rent time in their shops. Ours does.

-- Adventure? Heh! Excitement? Heh! A Woodworker craves not these things!

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Hacksaw

82 posts in 270 days


264 days ago

A few years back the school district my mom worked for found themselves with a surplus in thier budget,they arranged for the employees to take a course like you mentioned.I loved it I had woodshop 4 hrs a day my senior year (1 advanced woods,2 independent study woods and 1 student taught a basic woods class) so the instructor asked me if I was interested in helping out… of course I was! I got the shop almost to myself every saturday for 8 hrs a day sisnce the only people that signed up were the custodians (my mom was one of them) and their projects were basically coat trees or cheesy little shelves that took them 1 day to make.I guess what I’m saying is 36 hrs of shop time for $35 that is a STEAL even if you have to share the room.

-- teh most beautiful about a tree is what you can make out of it...even if that is only a fire!I hate raking

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acanthuscarver

156 posts in 605 days


264 days ago

Last Fall I ran several Adult Education classes through our local school district. They were generally around $35 per person for a single two hour class. In the scheme of things, you’re getting a pretty good deal but I’ve heard stories where the classes are so crowded you can’t get at the machinery. So, do a little homework first. The classes I ran were held in my shop and limited in size. Those who attended got a chance to build or learn a new skill in a concentrated period of time. I’ll run another series this Fall just because it was a lot of fun. You might want to take advantage of the shop time while you can. In our area, all the schools have gotten rid of their wood shops.

-- Chuck Bender, period furniture maker, www.acanthus.com

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Scott Bryan

20603 posts in 715 days


264 days ago

I have taken a couple of classes in an adult education program that were offered in my area. These essentially were a guided shop exercises that let the individual student choose a project while allowing to basic shop equipment. But the cost was significantly greater. These classes met for 8 3 hour sessions, were limited to 12 students and cost $160 for the 8 week series so, at least from my perspective, this sounds like a bargain to me.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

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rhett

158 posts in 561 days


264 days ago

If nothing else you will meet people with similar interest, in person, not over the internet. I am trying to recall a quote, if you quit learning, you quit living? No one knows everything about wood work, if they tell you they do, they are lying.

-- http://www.efcabineture.com/ You can be tired, or you can be broke, but you should never be tired and broke.

View CessnaPilotBarry's profile

CessnaPilotBarry

1265 posts in 596 days


263 days ago

For $35, I’d give it a shot if you don’t have the tools at home. You’re bound to learn something, and possibly meet some locals with the same interest.

We used to have local “open shop”, where the instructor simply helped with the tools. It was cheap, well equipped, and easy to attend. The attendees chose and made their own project. In recent catalogs, our local “Adult Ed Woodworking Classes” have been replaced listings of classes at a “real” Woodworking school 30 minutes away, the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking. CVSW offers superior, top-notch woodworking education, but the cost is far higher and the project is pre-chosen.

-- - Please help keep Lumberjocks an enjoyable escape by refusing to participate in political discussions. Simply spit out the bait and ignore the thread...

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